


A Toast To Not Dying

by reynabeth



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Dodgy characterisation, F/M, Jasiper fall into tartarus au, Lots of them getting knocked out and waking up and hugging each other, Some sexual innuendo cover your eyes kiddos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 22:11:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8419183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reynabeth/pseuds/reynabeth
Summary: The pit opened out into a huge cavern, so wide Piper couldn't see the edges. Everything was red, like spilled blood, and a rust-coloured river gashed through the cliffs below them. “Jason,” Piper called, shaking her boyfriend and trying not to drop him. “Jason! Wake up!”





	

**Author's Note:**

> i have multiple notes so  
> a) first off apologies for the dodgy characterisation of the titans etc. i couldn't be bothered to check my books so i made it up  
> b) this is the longest ive ever written in a short amount of time (1 week but the majority was written over three days)  
> c) i had some other notes but i forgot them  
> d) my mythology's a bit off too sorry  
> e) there's no actual toasts in it

Piper was falling.

 

She had thought she'd had it. Her hands had been on the edge of the pit, she'd been pulling herself forwards, her feet had found a ledge - and then the falling rock hit her and she toppled backwards, away from the cliff's edge and down to certain death.

 

She closed her eyes.

 

Then something slammed into her, knocking all the air out of her body. Her first thought was that she'd been hit by some falling debris, but then familiar strong arms wrapped around her

 

“Piper!” her boyfriend shouted over the roaring in their ears.

 

“Jason!” Piper cried back. “Quick - fly us out of here.”

 

“On it.” 

 

Piper buried her head in his shoulder, relief seeping through her veins. But they kept plummeting, with not a single gust of wind under their feet. “Hurry!” Piper called.

 

“I - can't -” Jason grunted, screwing up his face. “It's not - working -”

 

No. No. “Fly!” Piper shouted, putting all the force in her lungs behind the word. “Fly!”

 

They slowed down a little, but nothing else happened. Piper groaned. “No, no, no. Come on! Fly!” she shouted at the air around them. “Get us out!”

 

“Love - you -” Jason fell slack against her shoulder.

 

Piper sobbed, but kept pushing at the wind, trying to make them fly out. She was fighting a losing battle. 

 

The pit opened out into a huge cavern, so wide Piper couldn't see the edges. Everything was red, like spilled blood, and a rust-coloured river gashed through the cliffs below them. “Jason,” Piper called, shaking her boyfriend and trying not to drop him. “Jason! Wake up!”

 

His eyes opened, bleary but awake, and then screwed up against the stinging air. “Jason, you need to slow our fall!” Piper shouted into his ear, and he nodded against her shoulder.

 

Piper took a breath, as deep as she could in the circumstances, and thought about her friends. Then, with as much power as was in her lungs, she roared - “Slow down!”

 

Every muscle in Jason's body tensed against her, and Piper's voice felt sore and hoarse, but it was working, it was definitely working. The air underneath them felt more malleable and soft, and suddenly Piper could hear again. 

 

They spiralled down towards the cavern floor in a lopsided, jerky zigzag pattern. Piper closed her eyes as the ground loomed up in front of her. “Brace yourself,” Jason grunted, and then they hit the ground so hard Piper's legs went numb and she couldn't breathe.

 

She rolled to the side, absorbing as much of the impact as she could, and then lay still for a second as her senses returned.

 

The first thing she noticed was how sore she was.

 

The second was the smell. “Ugh,” Piper coughed, struggling to sit up. “It smells like my dad left his socks in a dog bed for the night.” 

 

She helped Jason up and he leant against her shoulder, wheezing. “M’sorry, Pipes,” he mumbled. “I just couldn't summon the winds.”

 

“It's okay,” Piper said. “We just need to figure out where we are and how to get back.” 

 

For the first time since they landed, she looked around. The cavern floor was red and veiny and covered in tiny sharp stones, like rows of miniature teeth, and stalactites plunged down through the gloom above them, ending just feet away from Piper's hair. 

 

She and Jason were on the edge of a cliff. At the bottom of the hundred-foot drop, Piper could see a streak of red, flowing like some kind of river. There weren't any monsters near them, thank the gods - but Piper could see some kind of dragon-headed reverse mermaids wandering around behind a rocky outcrop, and something roared in the distance.

 

“Piper…” wheezed Jason, choking horribly. “Pipes, I can't breathe.”

 

“I know. I think - I think the air is toxic.” Piper looked around, hefting Jason higher on her shoulder. “Right. Okay, we need a plan.”

 

“Good idea,” Jason said, smiling weakly.

 

“The river. We follow the river down there, because rivers have to have an end, right? So we walk along its banks, until we get to - somewhere.”

 

“Great plan, Pipes, but how are we going to get down? If my flying powers are out of action…” Jason shrugged. 

 

“We have to climb.” As she said it, Piper knew it was true. “There's no other way. Either we climb down and actually do something, or we stay up here and I watch you suffocate in front of me.”

 

“Okay, so we’re doing this.” 

 

“Can you stand on your own?” Piper lifted Jason's arm away from her shoulders, and he swayed, but stayed upright.

 

“I'm good. Let's just be quick.”

 

Piper nodded, and slowly lowered her feet over the edge of the canyon, fitting them into a ledge. She found a handhold and a foothold and another handhold, and soon she and Jason were climbing in total silence with only the sound of pebbles skittering down around them. 

 

They were maybe twenty feet from the bottom when Piper's hand slipped. She gasped, and jolted in shock, and that was when both of her feet lost their purchase on the rock, and she was dangling in midair with only one hand sliding around on a tiny outcrop of rock.

 

“Piper, hold on. I'm coming.” Urgency laced Jason's voice, but Piper barely heard. Trying not to make any noise, she scrabbled desperately for a hand or foothold, until finally she felt her toes brush against something.

 

“Give me your hand,” Jason encouraged, stretching out towards her.

 

“Thanks - I think I got it -” Piper grunted, taking his hand and standing properly on the ledge she'd found. “Hey, this is good. We can rest a moment -”

 

With a deafening roar, the whole cliff exploded into dust.

 

Piper fell backwards, slamming into Jason, and they both tumbled down the cliffside. Piper curled up as small as she could, trying to protect her head, but the impact still sent her sprawling. She could only stare, helpless, as a huge black shape unfurled from the debris, baring fangs and claws.

 

Some kind of hellhound, maybe? She knew Percy had a hellhound pet, but this one didn't look very friendly.

 

It loomed above them, sniffing wetly. Piper knew it was only a matter of seconds before they became demigod stew, and she had to act fast. “Stop,” she commanded, so powerfully that even Jason, shuffling towards his fallen spear, froze mid-grab. “Turn around.”

 

The hellhound groaned, and then turned, its huge bulk shifting the earth around it. So you're big, Piper thought, but not very bright. She could work with that.

 

“Stay,” she instructed. “Good dog.” 

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jason flip his spear so it merged into a razor-sharp sword. “So long, Spot,” he said, and leapt towards the dog, brandishing the sword.

 

Piper didn't really see what happened next. Everything around her had gone faded and dark, like she was falling to sleep, and silver sparks jumped in front of her eyes. “I think I'll just sit down,” she told herself, and the next thing she knew was blackness.

 

Then fire, burning her throat and lips. She coughed and choked and sputtered awake to see Jason watching her. “Gods, Piper,” he said, and then wrapped his arms around her.

 

“Whoah. What happened?” She pushed herself upright. “And what was that stuff?”

 

“Phlegethon fire-water,” Jason said. “I read about it once, when I was still in the legion. It's supposed to heal you.”

 

“It's horrible.” She pulled a face. “Is that thing dead?”

 

“The hellhound? Yeah. It's gone, alright.”

 

“Monsters reform quick down here. What with the Doors open, I don't fancy my chances sticking around,” Piper said, standing shakily.

 

“Let's go, then,” suggested Jason. “We'll start walking. Which way, do you reckon?” 

 

Piper closed her eyes. Then, “That way,” she said, pointing. “I can feel all the badness radiating off it, like a rotten apple core. It feels like when someone's staring and you can feel their stare on the back of your neck.”

 

“Guess that's the way we're going, then,” Jason said. “Off for a nice, romantic walk along the banks of a burning fiery river that somehow has the capacity to keep you alive throughout hellhound attacks and toxic air.”

 

“What a great boyfriend I have.” Piper took his hand, and they set off, following the river into the unknown.

 

They must have walked for at least a mile without talking, surrounded by fog, and not a single monster attack. Piper saw some creatures, sure: a pack of dog-men, some kind of flying creatures, and once a huge dark shadow passed over their head. But nothing attacked them, which surprised Piper.

 

“Can the monsters not smell us?” she asked eventually.

 

“I guess so,” Jason agreed. “This whole place reeks, and the Phlegethon must disguise our smell too.”

 

“That's lucky,” Piper said. “We could have ended up by the Styx, or the Acheron.” She shuddered.

 

“If we'd landed anywhere else, we'd be dead,” Jason said matter-of-factly. 

 

The further they walked, the darker the air around them got, like some kind of fog. It made Piper think of when she was younger, before all of this, and her dad would take her hiking in the mountains. They'd climb so high the cold would sting Piper's skin and eyes, and the clouds would descend around them in gauzy ribbons - damp and soft and warmer than she'd expected, and they tasted of woodsmoke and peat and some sweet undertone, like cherry cola.

 

This fog was nothing like that. It was black, like spilled ink in water, or charcoal smudges. Droplets of it pricked Piper's throat and lungs, making her cough and wheeze, and her feet felt blistered and sore. She couldn't see more than five feet in front of her, and it was too dangerous to get her dagger out to light the way.

 

So she and Jason made their way through the fog in the darkness, stumbling over the rocks and strange lumps in the ground. It got darker and darker until Piper's eyes started to burn and all she could hear was Jason's breath alongside her own.

 

Finally, she stopped. “This is a bad idea,” she said, her voice muffled and squashed down by the fog. “We don't know what way we're going, we don't know whether there's a monster five inches to the right, we don't know if there's something waiting for us - we should stop.”

 

“We can't,” Jason said, turning back to face her. “We need to get to the Doors. We're heading in the right direction, aren't we?”

 

When Piper thought about, she knew they were, the same way she knew which way was up and which was down. “Yeah…” She wrapped her arms around herself. “But I still think it will save time if we wait the fog out.”

 

“It'll take days to dissipate,” Jason argued. “We have to go!”

 

Piper gave a small scream of frustration. “Oh my God, Jason, how can you not see that that's a bad idea?” 

 

She heard her dad, somewhere above her left ear, telling her to calm down. “And now I'm losing my mind as well.” She sat down on something squishy, grimaced, and then buried her face in her hands.

 

“Hey.” Jason said, crouching down next to her and resting a hand on her back. “It'll be okay. I promise.”

 

Piper managed a tiny smile. “Thanks.” 

 

“Let's compromise,” Jason said encouragingly. “We'll wait for a half hour and see how it goes. But if the fog doesn't thin out by then, we'll just have to go anyway.”

 

“Right.”

 

Jason sat down by her side, and she laid her head on his shoulder, and they sat there in the silent dark. Then, “How do we know when half an hour has passed?” Piper said in a small voice.

 

Jason checked his wrist and frowned. “Huh. That's funny. My watch has stopped.”

 

“So’s mine.” Piper was quiet for a moment. “You're right. Let's just keep walking.”

 

Jason, to his credit, didn't even start to make any 'I-told-you-so’ noises, even though Piper could tell that's what he was thinking. “Okay,” he said, standing up. “Let's go.”

 

Piper kept her hand on the hilt of her knife as they walked.

 

After what felt like two hours or maybe twenty two, Piper's feet felt like lead, but the fog appeared to be thinning out. Hopes lifted, she took a step forward with renewed vigour, and her foot landed in empty space. With a shriek, she plunged forwards, and Jason grabbed her from behind.

 

“Gods, Piper.” Jason pulled her back, away from the edge, and she sank to her knees. 

 

When she regained her ability to speak, the first thing she did was kiss Jason with enough intensity to leave him gasping. The second thing she did was look around. “Fog's definitely thinning,” she breathed.

 

“Oh my gods. This is actually happening.” Jason ran a hand up over his face and through his hair.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“We're in Tartarus. We've fallen into Tartarus, oh my gods, Piper. We're trying to trek across the skin of a primordial deity to find some doors and get out and find our friends whilst surviving and not being ripped to shreds by monsters or - or thrown off cliffs!” Jason's usual calm, collected demeanour vanished, and a look of panic crossed his face.

 

“We're not going to die,” Piper reassured him. “And hey, maybe your flying powers have come ba - oh my god.” 

 

Her voice must have changed completely, because Jason looked up. “What?”

 

Piper couldn't answer. Just like that, the fog had lifted, and vanished in seconds, and Piper could see everything about where they were. A foot away from their backs was a huge, bone-coloured cliff, stretching out for miles and miles. To their left, the Phlegethon bubbled audibly, sending up jets of fire like waves.

 

And across the river, a huge plain yawned out for as far as Piper could see, and then further, split by the curve of the Phlegethon, arcing around and heading right through it. Craggy humps and bumps littered its surface, making it hard going for the creatures straggling across it. And there were a lot of creatures.

 

Monsters swarmed the plain, fighting and murdering and generally doing things that monsters do; they all headed the same direction, the way Piper and Jason were going.

 

“We were fifty feet from them,” Jason said, his voice strained. “How have we not been murdered?”

 

“If we don't get out of here, we're about to be,” Piper said, grabbing his arm and looking around frantically. Not far down the cliff face, she could see some kind of opening, with a stream of Phlegethon branching off and trickling into it. “There.”

 

They skirted the rock, moving as quietly as possible until they reached the cave. Inside, the walls sweated disgustingly, and the fire-water washed the whole cave with a sickly red-and-yellow light.

 

Piper peered further inside. The cave appeared empty, and when she tapped on the wall, nothing stirred. Even so, she drew her dagger.

 

“What do we do now?” Jason asked softly.

 

“I guess we need to wait. Find some other way across the plain.”

 

“If my flying powers have come back -” Jason said, but didn't finish his sentence, starting a new one instead. “I'm sorry I couldn't lift us out of here.”

 

“It's fine,” Piper said. “Like, you know when a guy has sex, sometimes he can't, you know, finish? It was just like that, but with your flying powers and us falling into Tartarus.”

 

“Are you insinuating I don't finish during sex?” Jason said, nudging her with his shoulder.

 

“Maybe.” Piper leaned in to kiss him because, hey, when you're about to die at the hands of an evil sentient hell-pit, you should at least have a chance to kiss your boyfriend one last time.

 

Then the back of the cave collapsed. From the rubble, a figure stood. Piper nearly toppled over backwards.

 

“Oh, gods,” Piper said, stumbling backwards.

 

The woman - if it even was a woman - stood up, towering over Piper; her limbs made an awful cracking sound, and she stretched out her jaw. Her face was weathered and cracked, like old granite, but her eyes were clear blue, shifting like a cloudy sky. 

 

“Goodness me,” she said, looking down at Piper and Jason, her voice as clear as her eyes and a little British. “Have you arrived, at last?”

 

“I'm sorry?” Jason said, his hand stealing to his sword.

 

The woman leaned down, examining them from all angles. “Finally!” she said. “I was beginning to think you'd never turn up - but of course you would, because I saw it, so I knew it would happen.”

 

“You're not making any sense,” Piper said, trying to distract her.

 

“Yes, she is,” Jason said. “Piper, I think she's a Titan.”

 

“As in, a Titan like you murdered with-”

 

“Don't say it!” Jason straightened up, holding his hands out in front of him. “You said you saw us. What else did you see?”

 

“Now you're not making sense,” Piper said, drawing her knife, but the Titaness interrupted her.

 

“So many things - you wouldn't even believe the headaches I get. I've seen everything that ever was and everything that ever will be, and it's all up here.” The Titaness tapped her forehead.

 

“Phoebe,” Jason said. “One of the Oracles of Delphi, Titaness of prophecy.”

 

She beamed. “Well, of course. I've come to help you!”

 

“Why?” Piper said. “I thought all Titans were evil?” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Not that you're evil, of course, since you're obviously very generous and -”

 

“Oh, I know. I'm not like my horrible brothers, or my sister Themis.” She shuddered. “Ugh. She was the original Oracle, you know, and then she just gave it to me - poor old Phoebe, always the second or fifth best sister, and -”

 

“Mighty Titaness Phoebe,” interjected Jason. “Why, exactly, are you helping us?”

 

“I'm not stupid,” Phoebe said. “I can see exactly what will happen if you die and Gaia wins.” The ground rumbled, and a nervous look crossed Phoebe's face. “Be careful what you say,” she advised, and then sat down heavily. Jason and Piper sat too, but on the other side of the Phlegethon stream.

 

“My name is Phoebe, Titan of the Oracle and of bright intellect,” the Titan began, folding her hands and resting her chin on them. “I was born to Gaia and Ouranos. I married my brother, Koios…” 

 

Jason cleared his throat awkwardly. 

 

“Oh, yes, we all married each other in those days,” she continued. “What a terrible husband. And to think, I had two children with him! Honestly, he used to come home and put his feet up, and then he'd call for a pie and a beer! Do you think I wanted to make him a pie and a beer? So then I would say to him - anyway, you don't want to hear about that. I had two daughters - Leto, mother of Artemis and Apollo, and Asteria, mother of Hecate. I did love them - they never asked for a pie or a beer.”

 

“Phoebe,” prompted Piper. “We really need to get to the point now. Why are you helping us, and how can we get out of here?”

 

“Oh, that's simple.” Phoebe's voice turned grave. “You have to get to the Doors of Death, face the pit, and -” She stopped. “And I can't disrupt the natural order of things, but I see something bad on the horizon.”

 

“Something bad? Face the pit? What do you mean?”

 

“I'm afraid I can't tell you,” Phoebe said, turning away. “The gift of prophecy comes with its own dangers. Who knows what would happen if I told you what was in your futures?”

 

“Didn't you give it away, though?” Jason said, crinkling his forehead. “The gift of prophecy, I mean. You gave it to Apollo, as a present, right?”

 

“Mistranslation,” Phoebe said dismissively. “I shared it with him, but I never gave it up. My awful sister Themis gave it to me - I might have been gold-crowned Phoebe, but Mother always preferred her to me.”

 

Piper had had enough of hearing about Phoebe’s sister. “Can you take us to the Doors, then?”

 

“Well, of course,” Phoebe said. “That's why I'm here.” Suddenly, her face turned blank. “Traffic on a hundred-eighty-first and a light drizzle in two hours time. A Blue Honda Civic will crash, causing blockage and diversions.”

 

“I'm sorry?”

 

“Oh, I do apologise,” Phoebe said. “I can't really control it. The future comes to me at unfortunate times.”

 

“I can tell,” Piper said. “Phoebe, can you take us across the plains out there?”

 

“Of course,” Phoebe said, cheerfully. “Monsters tend to avoid Titans, and my scent should cover you up.”

 

Piper yawned so hugely her jaw felt like it was going to pop off. “We should rest, first,” Jason said, noticing her yawn.

 

“I don't need rest,” Phoebe said even more cheerfully, “so I'll stay outside and keep watch.”

 

“Good plan,” Jason said, eyeing her suspiciously.

 

She got to her feet and ambled out, little pebbles shuddering under her huge feet. Once she'd settled outside, Jason turned to Piper. “We should sleep in shifts,” he said. “I'll stay awake first.”

 

Piper nodded. Jason shrugged off his ripped-up jacket and laid it over the flattest section of rock. He lay down on it, shifting uncomfortably, and Piper curled up against him. The positioning was awkward at first, then comfortable, and then awkward again, but finally Piper felt a warm, drowsy comfort take over.

 

She leaned her head on Jason's chest. “If we get out of here -”

 

“When,” he reminded her.

 

“When we get out of here, what's next?” she asked.

 

“College?” said Jason, his voice reverberating through her bloodstream. 

 

“Gods. I have to apply to them, as soon as we get back.”

 

“What would you do?”

 

“Psychology, maybe?” she said, touching a lock of his blond hair. 

 

“You'd be amazing,” he said, looking up at her. “And then what?”

 

Piper was silent, winding her arms around his neck and keeping them there. “Maybe we could travel. Don't you think that would be nice? We could live out of motels -”

 

“And cheap gas stations.”

 

“- and we'd have nothing to worry about except the wind in our hair and where we were going next.”

 

“Florida?”

 

“Definitely,” she agreed. “Texas, too? And Kansas.”

 

“Oregon and Washington and Nebraska,” he said. “We'd go everywhere, and then we'd settle.”

 

“A little house with a view of the beach.” Piper realised she was crying. “And a library, and a garden, and huge windows in every room.”

 

Jason was crying too - or perhaps that was just the glow of the Phlegethon stream on his cheeks. “We'd be safe. And happy.” He pulled her closer and closer, until their lips touched, and he tasted of salt and Phlegethon fire-water and monster dust.

 

“How are we going to get out?” she asked.

 

“We keep going,” Jason answered, looking away from her and into the river. “We'll follow the river and the monsters and the veins of this place, until we reach -”

 

“The Doors. Right.”

 

“Can you see anything in your dagger?” Jason said, pushing himself upright.

 

Piper drew Katoptris. The blade reflected back the flames and Jason's eyes and her frightened face. Then the image of the cave flickered and dissolved, replaced by something new. “The Parthenon,” she said, mostly to herself. There was some kind of dark figure at the side of the vision, but before she could make it out, it changed. Hazel Levesque in a pit of dark shadows, Leo struggling and fighting in empty space, a lion’s roar.

 

“I've seen this all before,” she muttered, shaking the dagger until it shifted again. This time, the scene showed a blood-red river and a horned beast and - a giant. The giant roared and beat his chest and shouted something that looked like Jason's name.

 

“Enceladus,” Jason said. “But - we killed him.”

 

“Tartarus, remember?” Piper said. “He looked pretty mad.”

 

“How far away was he?” 

 

“I don't know.” Piper shook her head. “Hopefully Phoebe will warn us if she hears him.”

 

“If we can even trust her,” Jason said.

 

“I think we can,” Piper said. “I have a good feeling about her. Well, a not-bad one, anyway.”

 

“Still, we sleep in shifts,” Jason said, and Piper agreed.

 

“Wake me up in a few hours,” she said, closing her eyes.

 

The last thing she heard before she fell asleep was Jason counting out the seconds, and then she was gone.

 

Of course, she dreamt.

 

In her dream, she was at her dad's house, in his office. He sat outside on the balcony, drinking some kind of smoothie and sitting on a deckchair, a laptop on his lap, the screensaver floating around. Tristan had his eyes closed and his face upturned to the sun.

 

Looking at him made Piper's heart hurt. As she watched, her father opened his eyes and reached for his phone, dialing a number. It ring for a long time, and then she heard it beep. 

 

“You've reached Piper McLean’s phone. Sorry, I can't take your call right now; please leave a message and I'll get back to you! Or not.”

 

Piper's dad sighed and hung the phone up. “Where are you, Pipes?” he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

 

Piper surged forwards. “I'm here, Dad! I'm right here!” 

 

Tristan looked around, but his eyes went right through her, and he turned back.

 

“I'm here, Dad! Dad!” Piper's mouth opened, but no sound came out. She pounded on the glass sliding door, but her fists fell silently, like they'd been padded, and her dad still didn't look round.

 

Piper's eyes flew open. Jason's face hovered above her, and he sighed with relief when he saw she was awake. “Thank the gods, Pipes: I was trying to wake you for ages. I think you were having a nightmare.”

 

Piper nodded. “What's going on?” she asked, her voice croaky and hoarse.

 

“Phoebe thinks she sees Enceladus. We have to go, and now.”

 

Piper scrambled to her feet, shaking the last sleep-fuzziness out of her head, and Jason slung his jacket over his shoulders before hurrying towards the mouth of the cave, Piper following behind.

 

The Titan waited for them outside the cave. “Phoebe? What's happening?” Piper asked, her voice frantic.

 

“I always hated the giants,” Phoebe said, shaking her head. “Enceladus will be here in - well, time is different in Tartarus, but he'll be here soon.”

 

“How soon?”

 

“Soon enough for us to go now.” Phoebe began to lumber away, and Piper had to jog to keep up.

 

“So you can take us along the plains?” she asked.

 

“I hope so.” Phoebe stared grimly across the Phlegethon. “We'll have to jump. Hold onto me.”

 

Reluctantly, Piper took hold of one of Phoebe's hands. Jason wrapped his arms around her, and held onto the same hand as Piper. “Ready?” said Phoebe.

 

“Go ahead.” Piper braced herself.

 

Phoebe bent her legs, and then leapt. There was a moment of weightlessness, and Phlegethon fire jets singed the soles of Piper's shoes. Then they landed, the impact sending jolts through Piper's bones.

 

She released Phoebe's hand and disentangled herself from Jason. “Now what?”

 

“Stay as close to me as you can,” Phoebe muttered. “Whatever you do, don't kill one unless you have to, or you'll attract them all.”

 

“It reminds me of that scene in the BFG,” Piper said. “Any second now, a Cyclops is gonna loom up like, 'I...smell...human...bean…’” Phoebe shot Piper a look, and she shut up. “Sorry. Let's go.”

 

Piper and Jason pressed in as close to Phoebe as they could, and started walking. Piper's face was five inches from Phoebe's mighty butt, which was not an experience she ever wanted to repeat.

 

They had to go painfully slow, and it left Piper clenching her fists so hard she left little crescents in the palms of her hands. To pass the time, she tried to identify every monster she saw - though Phoebe had been right: nothing came near them. 

 

It was only once the fear of being attacked had worn off that Piper realised how hungry she was. Phlegethon water might help her burning lungs and aching feet, but it wasn't enough to fill her up. 

 

“Can we stop a second?” she asked, finally.

 

“What's up?” Jason stopped too.

 

“I'm just -” Piper waved a hand at the Phlegethon. 

 

“Sure. I need a break, too,” Jason said, even though Piper knew he didn't really. They knelt at the side of the Phlegethon, and Piper grimaced as the fire burnt her throat.

 

“Come on,” Phoebe said, when they'd finished, “only a little further on the plains.”

 

“Thank the gods,” groaned Piper, and sure enough, Piper had just finished counting to a thousand before they arrived at a sharp drop.

 

“More cliffs,” Jason frowned. “The way we're climbing down, it feels like we're traipsing right into Tartarus's gullet.”

 

Piper shuddered. “Let's not think of it like that,” she said. “Let's just - climb down. And pretend we aren't in a sentient pit of fire and death and monsters.”

 

“Good plan,” said Jason, and swung himself over the edge. “You need any help down?”

 

“I can manage perfectly fine, thanks,” Piper said, following him down the cliff edge. It was slippery and damp - with what, Piper didn't want to know - and her feet skidded on the rock.

 

Eventually, she jumped down onto the rocky, slightly squishy floor. Phoebe peered over the edge of the cliff with a worried expression, and Piper gestured for her to come down.

 

For a twelve-foot-tall Titan, Phoebe descended the cliff with considerable grace, far faster than Piper and Jason had. When she reached the bottom, she held out a hand. “Stay here. I'm going to check ahead.”

 

“Okay. Be quick,” Jason agreed, and Phoebe lumbered off around the rocky outcrop that blocked Piper's view of whatever lay ahead. She leant back against a rock. 

 

“You reckon we can trust her, then?” Piper said.

 

“Yes. Yes, I do,” Jason said, as if he'd just made his mind up then. 

 

“I do,” Piper agreed. “I quite like, her actually, because -” She broke off, seeing Jason's expression. All the blood drained from his face and his eyes widened.

 

“Piper, get back!”

 

Before she could move, a huge hand grabbed her from behind. Piper whirled, trying to free her arm from its grip. A Cyclops towered behind her, a big nasty one, its singular eye red and glowing, and a horrible grin stretching across its face.

 

“Hello, little demigod,” it said. “Time to die now.” 

 

Piper gave a shriek, desperately hoping that Phoebe would hear and come rescue them, and in one fluid movement, drew her dagger from her bed and threw it. Katoptris glinted in the dull red light, and then buried itself in the cyclops’s eye socket with a sickening thunk.

 

The creature gave a wail and released Piper. She staggered backwards before the cyclops exploded in a shower of gold dust. 

 

Phoebe poked her head around the outcrop. “Everything alright?”

 

Piper looked down at the dust, which was already swirling in little eddies, building up into the monster’s shape. “Let's get out of here,” she said, picking up her dagger.

 

“Good idea,” Jason agreed. “Phoebe, is everything safe?” 

 

“Looks like it,” Phoebe said. “It's a - well, you'd better come and see.”

 

With one last glance at the monster dust, Piper hurried after Phoebe, around the outcrop. The rocks closed in, into a little tunnel, and Piper had to duck her head to shuffle through. Phoebe was crawling ahead on her hands and knees. “And just through here, it opens up into a cave,” Phoebe called back, and then vanished from sight.

 

A second later, Piper passed through the opening to the cave, and found Phoebe on the other side. The Titan had been right: rock walls soared up to form a high, arched ceiling, and the cavern was so wide, Piper could barely see the other sides.

 

It would have been easy enough to cross, if it wasn't for the river rushing through the centre. Not the burning Phlegethon, but a blackish, brownish river the colour of old mud. From it, Piper swore she could hear sobs and screams, and a strange cold misery took hold of her limbs, making them feel as heavy as one of the stalactites that hung tight to the cave ceiling.

 

She sank to her knees against her will, a dull leadeness filling her up inside. Everything went blurry, and sounded like it was echoing through a long tunnel.

 

“Piper! Piper, wake up!” The world cleared for a second, and Piper opened her eyes enough to see Phoebe in front of her. Seeing the Titaness’s ugly mug from close up was enough to make Piper snap to alertness.

 

“The Cocytus,” Jason said, looking grim. “The river of lament.”

 

“Gods.” Piper scrubbed her eyes, surprised to find them wet with tears. 

 

“I wouldn't call on the gods down here,” Phoebe warned, before turning to the river. “It's wide, but I can see the other side. I think I could jump it.”

 

“Are you sure?” Piper said.

 

“It's the only way,” Jason agreed, and Piper shot him a look that said, You're agreeing with her now, too? 

 

Either Jason didn't see her expression or he just chose to ignore it, gripping onto Phoebe's cracked-granite arm. “Pipes, you wanna take the other side?”

 

Reluctantly, Piper did as he said. Phoebe squatted down, and then sprang up. Piper's legs dangled in the misery-water, and she had to wriggle to keep them out of it. 

 

Phoebe had almost reached the other side when Jason fell, tumbling away from her arm and straight into the water. Piper didn't pause to think: she dropped Phoebe's arm and dived in.

 

“Jason!” she shouted, over the sobs and screams that echoed in her ears. 

 

“Piper!” he called back, weak but still afloat. She ploughed towards his voice, and accidentally kicked him in the shins.

 

“Jason, thank the gods,” she yelled. “Come on, we have to get out!” She paddled desperately, trying to tow Jason with one arm, but he was a dead weight against her side.

 

Piper could feel herself sinking, feel the sadness overpowering her, but she resisted as long as she could. She would not be another of those souls trapped forever in some stupid river of crying people.

 

Then the water closed over her head and she thought she was gone.

 

One, two, three, and she held onto Jason, four, five, six, there was no point fighting, seven, eight, nine, and something was wrapping around her arm and pulling her up and out of the water and onto the bank. Ten.

 

She was alive.

 

Piper coughed and choked and struggled upright, reaching for Jason and finding his limp hand. She flipped him over, feeling for a pulse. Nothing.

 

Piper remembered the first-aid course her dad had made her take when she was fourteen. At the time, she'd thought it annoying and a waste of time, but then she hadn't known she'd been doing this. 

 

Deadly calm, she pinched his nose and tilted his head back, blowing into his mouth. Straddling him, she pumped on his chest. Please, she prayed. Please, please, please. 

 

She tried again and again, and on her third try, Jason heaved upright, turning his head to the side and coughing up a stream of Cocytus water and debris. He choked and retched, and then fell back, gasping for breath.

 

Piper burst into tears and hugged him.

 

“Hey, you,” he rasped, hugging her back limply.

 

“I thought you were dead,” she sobbed, clinging onto him and breathing in his Jason-smell, still there under the reek of various underworld river water and monster dust.

 

Phoebe tapped Piper on the shoulder. “I hate to interrupt your lover's reunion, but - it'll be sunny in N.Y.C at ten tomorrow but there's temporary roadworks on the way in, so watch out for delays - Enceladus isn't far away.”

 

“I can hear him,” Jason said, horrified. Sure enough, when Piper listened, she could hear horns and shouting.

 

“Okay, we gotta go,” she said, scrambling off Jason - and blushing, when she realised what position she'd been in - and helping him to his feet.

 

Phoebe led them out of the cave and back into the sickly red glow. Piper's legs were wobbly and her throat hurt and her clothes were stiff with water - she couldn't even imagine how awful Jason must be feeling.

 

Almost as soon as they left the cave, they were surrounded by a forest. Thick, fibrous trunks tapered up to a thinner tip, and then expanded into a thick canopy of leaves. If Tartarus was a body, this was definitely his hairy private area. Piper just hoped they wouldn't hit any, ahem, boulders, or likewise.

 

Jason slipped his arm around her shoulders, as if he was trying to hold her up, but Piper knew it was the opposite. Subtly, she hitched his arm further around her, and propped him up so they were traipsing along with him leaning against her side.

 

Time started to blur, and Piper's eyes began to close. Everything smudged into one red blob and Jason's arm on her shoulders.

 

Then a shriek sounded from above.

 

“Furies,” muttered Phoebe. “Damn it! I should have predicted this!”

 

“Furious?” said Piper. “What do you mean?”

 

“Furies, not furious,” said Jason. “Phoebe, can you get us out of here?”

 

“I could carry you,” Phoebe said nervously. 

 

“Piper?” Jason turned to her.

 

The unexpected question left Piper stuttering. “Uh, sure. If you think you can take us both - can you fly, Jason?”

 

Jason clenched his fists and scrunched up his face. “Nope. Nothing.”

 

“Okay, Phoebe,” Piper said, bracing herself. 

 

Phoebe's torso was the same size as Piper's entire body. It was easy enough to cling on, even if it was pretty horrible having her head angled so she was looking right down Phoebe's shirt. 

 

“Can you take me as well, or should I run behind?” Jason asked.

 

“Don't be a dummy,” Piper said. “We aren't leaving you. Come on.”

 

Jason hauled himself up, grimacing at the awkward positioning. His body was pressed right into Piper's, and it made her nerves tingle and spark. 

 

Then Phoebe started to run, and she forgot everything.

 

The Titan ran faster than the fastest car Piper had ever been in - not as fast as Arion, perhaps, but still all power and muscle and speed. The hair-like trees sped past, and the screeches of the furies faded into the background.

 

Finally, Phoebe slowed down. “We should find somewhere to spend the night,” Piper suggested.

 

“Please,” Jason agreed, flopping exhaustedly against Piper.

 

“Of course,” Phoebe said concernedly. “I do apologise. I completely forgot you need rest.”

 

She stopped outside a cave and peered inside. “This will do for tonight,” she proclaimed, tapping the walls, but nothing stirred. 

 

It seemed like forever since Piper had had anything to eat or drink. Even her last dose of Phlegethon water had been hours ago. When she told Jason, as they were making up a bed by the wall, he pulled a plastic bag out of his pockets.

 

“I have ambrosia,” he said. “For emergencies.”

 

“We should save it,” Piper said, but her stomach sobbed in longing.

 

“Let's share one square,” Jason said. “Then there's still some left.”

 

“Okay. Sounds good to me.” Piper leaned eagerly in towards the bag as Jason unsealed it, and the ambrosia smell made her eyes water. Jason split the square - she noticed he handed her the bigger part - and Piper pushed it into her mouth.

 

Immediately, she felt better. All the tiny cuts and scrapes on her body sealed up, the dullness that had been in her limbs since the Cocytus faded away, and the hunger grappling with her stomach eased.

 

Sighing with relief, she leaned back. “My clothes are still wet,” she noted.

 

“Same.” Jason pulled his shirt over his head, and Piper's mouth went dry. He hung it up on a ledge to dry. “I can sleep over there, if you'd prefer,” he offered.

 

“No, it's fine.” Piper took off her jacket, and laid it out over some rocks. 

 

She lay down next to him, the way his back muscles rippled making her feel tingly inside, and closed her eyes. “When we get back, can we climb a mountain?”

 

“Of course we can, Pipes.”

 

“I was thinking, earlier, about climbing mountains with my father. I want to do it again. I want to taste the clouds.”

 

“I'd give you the clouds every day, if I could, and the sun and the moon and the stars.”

 

Piper's whole body turned to cotton candy. “I don't want the stars. I just want you.”

 

He kissed her, long and slow and deep. It tasted of possibility, of promises, of what could be. She fell asleep, and for once, she didn't dream.

 

A few hours later, Phoebe woke them by blundering into the cave. Jason made a horrified noise and snatched for his shirt, pulling it over his head.

 

“Don't tell me,” Piper groaned, “we have to go because Enceladus is about to catch up with us.”

 

“Well, what else? Do you really want to become demigod sacrifices?” Phoebe said. Piper thought about what had happened in Kansas, and Gaia trying to make her choose one of the boys to die with her.

 

“No, not particularly,” she agreed, getting to her feet and shrugging on her - thankfully dry - jacket. “Lead on.”

 

“Whilst you were asleep, I saw something,” Phoebe said. “Today, we're going to arrive at the Doors.”

 

“Gods,” said Piper. “I don't know if I'm ready.”

 

“Of course you are,” Jason said. “We can totally do this.”

 

They walked for about half an hour before they heard the furies again.

 

First, Piper heard screeches, and then she saw three black dots in the distance. “Oh, dear,” Phoebe said. “Oh, dearie me. That is not good at all.”

 

“Is that -”

 

“The furies, yes. They appear to have caught up with us.” 

 

Jason drew his spear, and Piper drew Katoptris. Phoebe, meanwhile, pulled out a huge double-edged sword from inside her shirt.

 

“Dear god,” Piper said. “I knew there was a stereotype of women keeping things in their bras, but this is next-level.”

 

Jason snorted. When she looked at him, he gave her a sideways glance, and they would have cracked up if they hadn't been about to be dive-bombed by some furies.

 

The closer the creatures got, the more horrible they looked, with raggedy bat wings, gnarled bones, and liver-spotted skin. The one in the middle hissed and shrieked, and Piper swore she saw fangs.

 

“Get ready,” Jason said, and launched his spear. It hit the fury on the left hand side, and she burst open in a cloud of dust. 

 

Jason's spear returned to his hand, and he gave a little fist pump. Just as a smile was beginning to spread across Piper's face, though, the cloud of fury dust clumped back together, quickly rebuilding the monster.

 

The right hand side fury swooped down, reaching her long, twisted talons towards Jason's head. Piper swung her dagger, and the blade sliced through one of the creature’s wings. The wing dissolved, and the fury wheeled away, lopsided and drowsy. It spiralled unevenly down, hitting the floor not far away.

 

“Let me,” Phoebe said, leaping towards it and stabbing it with her sword. It crumbled into sand, and Phoebe began to spread the dust around, destroying it whenever it tried to reform.

 

The middle fury was the only one that hadn't attacked or been attacked yet, and Piper got a feeling she was the smartest.

 

“Hey! Come here, bird-brain!” she shouted, waving her arms. “Or are you too chicken?” 

 

The fury screeched and attacked. Piper poured all her charmspeak into her words, waving her knife and cursing at the monster. “Get back, you feather-face!”

 

“Die!” shrieked the fury. “You will die, stupid demigod. If not now, at the hands of the pit.”

 

Piper's mind raced. “The pit?”

 

“Oh, yes. Good luck opening the doors, little girl.”

 

Piper gave a shout of rage and demolished the fury. It burst into dust, and she ground its remains into the dirt with her heel. “And don't come back.”

 

By her side, Jason was sparring with the remaining fury, the one he'd already killed once. “They won't stay dead!” Piper called. “We have to go!”

 

“Got it -” Jason grunted, thrusting his sword into the fury’s heart. “Go, go, go, go!”

 

They scrambled away, across a cliff and towards a branch of the Phlegethon. After several minutes of running, they stopped. Piper fell to her knees and gulped some of the fire-water, sighing in relief as the agonising burning eased the pains in her joints and lungs.

 

Jason sat down next to her. After a while, he said, “I love you, Piper.”

 

“Did you mean what you said last night - that after all this is over, we could go to a mountain?”

 

“Do I seem like the sort of guy to make fake promises?”

 

“Of course not,” Piper said, leaning towards him. “I just wondered if the offer still stands.”

 

“Absolutely,” Jason said, touching her cheek. “We'll climb the highest mountain we can find, until we can taste the clouds, just like you said.”

 

“Woodsmoke and peat and cherry cola,” Piper said dreamily.

 

“It'll be just you and me for miles and miles and miles, and we'll look down the mountain at the tininess of the world below. We'll be able to see all those people in one eyeful, and they won't be able to see us.”

 

“Will the sun be setting?”

 

“Of course the sun will be setting,” Jason said. “Pink and red and orange painting the sky.”

 

“I love sunsets.”

 

“I'm more of a sunrise guy myself,” Jason said.

 

“Traitor.” Piper kissed him.

 

Phoebe cleared her throat. “Not to interrupt, or anything, but I think we're nearly there.”

 

“I know,” Piper said. “I can feel it in my gut. It's the same feeling that you get when you miss a step on the stairs, or feel something you're holding slip out of your hands.”

 

“Let's get going,” Phoebe said grimly. “There's another plain to cross before we reach the doors, and then we have to face whatever awaits us there.”

 

Piper took one last sip of the fire-water, pulling a disgusted face, and got to her feet. Jason did the same. “Ready to go, team?” Piper said, holding out her hands.

 

Jason high-fived her. “Ready.”

 

Phoebe pressed her huge hand against Piper's little one. “Let's hope we don't die.”

 

“To not dying,” Piper agreed, and they set off over the steady downhill climb.

 

A few minutes later, they were scrambling over a rock when Piper saw something silver-white in a crevice in the rock. “It's a flower,” she said wonderingly; it was a flower, each of its petals soft and silvery and perfectly formed.

 

“It's hope,” Jason said. Piper touched the flower and it tumbled away from the rock into her open palm.

 

“Here,” she said, tucking it behind Jason's ear, “your own little sliver of hope.” He laughed, pretending to preen, and then kissed her.

 

“Thank you for my hope,” he murmured into her ear. Carefully, he took the flower and pressed it into his pocket. 

 

Piper took one step forward, and the rock broke off. She skidded forwards, a gasp tearing out of her mouth, and smashed her head against the floor.

 

So much for hope.

 

Everything was black, and then Piper began to dream. First, she was on deck of the Argo II. Coach Hedge squatted near the ballistae, humming something aimlessly. 

 

Piper called his name, even though she knew it was pointless. Behind the coach, on the mainland, some kind of mountain or hill was smoking dangerously. 

 

Piper willed herself towards it. She passed right through Hedge and the railings, and then she was beside Percy Jackson as he took a drink from a steaming green goblet. 

 

Although she tried to hold onto the image, it dissolved like a dead fury. Instead, she found herself at the head of a conference table.

 

Octavian headed up the meeting, or whatever it was. Other Roman demigods filled the other seats, as did the Lares. 

 

“With Reyna and Jason absent, I think the only thing I can do is take over as praetor,” Octavian said, his voice even more nasal and annoying than Piper remembered. “My first duty as praetor is to appoint these centurions.” 

 

Octavian waved a hand, and several beefy-looking men stepped forwards in one simultaneous movement. “My next duty is to announce we are going to kill all the Graecus scum.”

 

The demigods and ghosts roared and clapped, and the scene faded. Piper saw Reyna, crying, muffling her sobs with a cape. She saw her father again, sleeping, tossing and turning like her was having a nightmare too. Finally, she saw Enceladus, bellowing Jason's name. He had a band of giants and monsters behind him, and Piper recognised the cave where they'd spent the night.

 

She woke with a gasp. “Enceladus is nearly here!”

 

“Piper!” Jason turned and caught her in an embrace. “You're awake.”

 

“Yeah, I sure am.” Piper disentangled herself from him and sat up. “Where are we?”

 

“After you were knocked out, we carried you for a half hour and then waited in a cave, which is where we are now. You've been out for an hour or two.”

 

“And the doors?”

 

“Right over there.”

 

“We need a plan.” Piper sighed, rubbing her sore head.

 

“Phoebe has one. She's been in contact with Hecate.” 

 

“My granddaughter,” Phoebe said. “She's given me temporary power over the Mist. Only a few hours, but hopefully enough time to get you out. Apparently she took a great liking to your friend Hazel Levesque.”

 

“Hazel? Is she okay?” Piper asked.

 

“It would seem so. Anyway, I'm going to mist you to look like an empousai and a cyclops. Then we're going to head over there, sneak up to the elevators, and one of you will cut the chains. There's one thing, though.” Phoebe looked grave. “As soon as you cut the chains, the Mist will vanish. So then you have to smuggle yourself in behind the other person and kill the other monsters in the elevator. Then, if all goes well, you'll be up out there.”

 

“And you?” Piper said. “You're coming too, right?”

 

The Titan smiled, though she looked a little sad. “Well, we'll see.”

 

“We aren't leaving you,” Piper said matter-of-factly. “You've helped us so much - we can't just abandon you.”

 

Phoebe pretended not to hear. “Are you ready to be Mist-ified? It might be...a little shocking.”

 

“I'm ready,” Jason said, and Piper agreed. 

 

Phoebe clenched her jaw, straining. Piper closed her eyes, waiting. “Okay, I'm done,” Phoebe said, finally.

 

Piper opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Jason's now-singular eye, bloodshot and slightly distended, and the rest of him wasn't any better. “Would you still kiss me if I looked like this, babe?” he joked.

 

Piper laughed. If she focussed really, really hard, she could see Jason's real face, flickering like a candle flame in the wind. It was a good disguise, though; hopefully, it would fool the monsters. “Are we really going to have to face the pit?” she said, her voice sounding huskier and a little raspy, with a hiss on every other word. 

 

“I hope not,” Phoebe said it, looking down shiftily. “Let's get going, before any more monsters turn up.”

 

They hurried out of the cave. Outside, veins and capillaries bulged in the floor, and monsters swarmed the plains. It felt odd, walking among them without hiding in Phoebe's pants or on her shoulder; even though she knew they couldn't tell it was her, she still felt exposed.

 

The closer they got, the more Piper felt the Doors in her gut: less of a tangible thing, but more the absence of one; a void of empty space, pulling at her like a magnet. Then they crested a hill and the Doors were revealed.

 

They were a little anticlimactic, if Piper was honest. All she could really see was that they were big and black and a bit spooky, guarded by two figures. 

 

“Oh,” said Phoebe. “It's him.”

 

The closer they got, the more Piper could see. The Doors were being guarded by two titans: one glowing gold, and the other dark and horned. 

 

“Get behind the doors,” Phoebe hissed. “I can cause a distraction!”

 

Piper glanced at Jason, and he nodded. As casually as she could, she wandered around to the back of the doors. Four chains were holding them in place, glowing black and gold and green. The links of metal looked too strong to break by hand, but Piper thought Katoptris could probably snap them.

 

“The Titan with the horns is Krios, the dude I killed in the Titan War. He's also Phoebe's -”

 

“Hello, brother,” said Phoebe, walking towards Krios without even glancing at Piper and Jason.

 

“Sister,” Krios grunted. “I was wondering when you'd show up.”

 

“Well, I thought I'd pay you a visit,” Phoebe said. “I see you're hard at work.”

 

“Actually, I'm doing all the work,” said the other Titan - Piper thought his name was Hyperion, but she wasn't sure.

 

“Hah! Standing there looking pretty, more like!” Krios snorted.

 

Hyperion aimed a swing at Krios, who ducked underneath the clumsy fist. “Nice try, brother.”

 

“If I didn't have an important job to do, I'd beat you up, I swear,” Hyperion grumbled.

 

Piper drew Katoptris. “Are you sure you don't want me to do it?” Jason whispered, and Piper nodded. 

 

“You need to stay on guard in case one of those Titans sees us,” she hissed back. “Okay, tell me when to hit.”

 

“You couldn't beat me up,” Krios was saying.

 

“Boys, boys,” said Phoebe. “You could always have a contest to see who was stronger?”

 

“A contest! Good idea!” rumbled Krios, punching Hyperion squarely in the jaw.

 

“No fair! I wasn't ready!”

 

“Pah! You're just making excuses now.” As they argued, Phoebe nodded frantically, and Jason nudged Piper, who raised her blade.

 

“Three, two, one…” She brought Katoptris down, and the chain shattered. The doors rumbled, shuddering back and forth, and the monsters filing in were shaken about.

 

Piper felt the Mist burn away like fog in sunshine. If anyone caught her now, she was a goner.

 

“What was that?” Krios demanded.

 

“Ah, it was probably just the ground shaking in awe at your strength, dear!” Phoebe said, patting him on the bicep.

 

Krios flexed proudly. “Yes, my superior strength!” he bellowed, punching Hyperion again. Piper took advantage of the noise to break the second chain, and the doors strained like they were trying to break free.

 

The second two chains were round the front of the doors, but Piper thought she could reach them if she stretched. As long as Phoebe could keep them distracted for long enough.

 

But just as she was reaching around for the chain, she heard horns, and a shout. “Brothers from another father!” she heard bellowed across the plain. “I come in peace! Also, kill those demigods!”

 

“Enceladus,” whispered Piper. “Jason, cut the other chain!”

 

She lunged for one chain and Jason the other. She heard Jason's gladius break one, but before she could bring Katoptris down for the final time, Krios grabbed her by the neck. 

 

Choking, she flailed to get free. “Put...me...down…” she grunted, but the Titan just laughed.

 

“Your pretty words won't work on me, demigod,” he chuckled. “I think Mother will be very happy to have you.”

 

Over his shoulder, Piper saw Jason, sneaking up behind the doors. She went still in Krios’s grip, and then Jason leapt, lashing out with his sword. It severed right through the Titan's arm.

 

Krios roared, dropping Piper, and spun round. When he saw Jason, he started laughing even harder. “Jason Grace, son of Jupiter. Isn't it nice to see you again? A boy and a girl - Mother will be very happy.”

 

“She won't if you're dead,” Jason said, and then charged. His blade slashed through the black armour, leaving a weeping golden gash. Piper took the opportunity to lurch upwards and drive her dagger into the small of Krios's back.

 

The Titan gasped and choked, falling to his knees. Jason stabbed him again, in the heart and the throat; Krios dissolved into a puddle of ichor and dust. “That's the second time I've killed you,” Jason said triumphantly, kicking at the ashes to stop him reforming.

 

“Jason, Piper, quick! Into the elevator! The button needs to be held down for twelve minutes; I'll hold it and you go!” Phoebe shouted.

 

“We can't leave you!” Piper yelled back, at the same time as Hyperion clobbered Phoebe over the head.

 

Phoebe got to her feet, swaying slightly, and then charged at Hyperion, scissoring him into tiny shreds with her sword. “That was so satisfying,” she muttered, scattering his monster dust. “Now get in, quick, before -”

 

TOO LATE.

 

“Tartarus,” muttered Jason, and Piper dropped her dagger. All of a sudden, everything felt painfully heavy, and her bones turned to molten lead. 

 

The man - if you could call it that - stepped forward, covering the plain with a few steps. Its skin was the colour of burnished bronze, and engraved with screaming skulls - a tad overdramatic, Piper thought, but each to their own - and it was so huge, Piper barely came up to its ankle.

 

She could hardly see its face, but when she did, she really wished she couldn't. It had glaring red eyes and a large nose and no mouth at all, just a swirling, gaping black hole. Krios and Hyperion's remains were sucked into it, as were any monsters stupid enough to be nearby. Piper could feel the pull, like all her atoms were dissolving.

 

“No,” she said. 

 

“No,” Phoebe echoed.

 

“Father!” Enceladus called, stepping forwards. “I am here, and I have beaten the demigods!”

 

YOU ALWAYS WERE MY LEAST FAVOURITE SON.

 

“F - father?” Enceladus wavered, looking up. “Father, wait!” 

 

He was too late. With a roar, Tartarus just - absorbed him. Piper stifled a moan as the giant was torn to shreds and disposed of in seconds.

 

DEMIGODS.

 

Tartarus took a rumbling step forwards, and saw Jason and Piper.

 

YOU MAY HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR, BUT I AM AFRAID IT IS TIME TO DIE.

 

The cavern ceiling cracked open and a huge bolt of lightning flashed, brighter than anything Piper had seen in days. “Jason?” she managed. “You - was that -?” 

 

Jason nodded dumbly. “Great timing, huh?”

 

“Piper, Jason, go. I can hold him off for long enough,” urged Phoebe.

 

“Can you?” Jason said.

 

“Jason, no -”

 

ENOUGH TARRYING, NOW. THAT WAS A CLEVER TRICK, JUPITER-SPAWN, BUT I AM THE PIT. YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME WITH YOUR FLASHING LIGHTS.

 

“Go.” Phoebe's voice was final. 

 

With a sob, Piper turned and ran backwards into the elevator, Jason behind her.

 

NICE TRY.

 

The last thing Piper saw was Phoebe's face, her weathered cracked-granite face, and then the doors closed. They began to move.

 

The doors rattled and clattered, as if something outside was trying to get in. Jason pressed against them, muscles straining, and Piper sank down with her back pushed against them.

 

She started to cry.

 

Everything about the elevator felt surreal, from the bright lighting to the clean, sparkling floor to the soft music playing from a small speaker in the corner. Piper wanted to draw her dagger and smash the speaker into a thousand pieces, but she restrained.

 

“Piper,” Jason said brokenly.

 

“I know,” she said, her bones leaden. “I know.”

 

She thought of Phoebe, trapped down there with the body of the sentient hell-pit and a million evil monsters, and only a double-edged sword and huge feet and a fast-moving brain to defend herself. It just made her cry harder.

 

Something about the elevator was draining the life from Piper. Weakness left her head hanging forward brokenly, and her breaths jagged and sore, like they'd been wounded by Jason's gladius.

 

“Four hundred and twenty two, four hundred and twenty three, four hundred and twenty four…” muttered Jason, and Piper realised he was counting the seconds. 

 

“Come on, Phoebe,” she muttered. “You can do it.” 

 

With every second, Tartarus grew further and further away from them. Already, it seemed like a dream, a nightmare, and they'd left Phoebe stuck down there.

 

The time passed, and the doors still didn't open. Jason kept counting. “Six hundred and fifty seven, six hundred and fifty eight, six hundred and fifty nine - seven hundred -”

 

Ding!

 

They had arrived.

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE LEAVE KUDOS AND A COMMENT IF YOU ENJOYED THANK YOU


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